Single-Handing

The picture to the right gives some idea of the view you would have when trying to get back on board. You can see that she had no boarding ladder and that the task is impossible even in sunny warm weather let alone in frigid water and sodden heavy clothing. Even with someone onboard helping, it would be a very difficult challenge.

The first take-home lesson then, is that a boarding ladder is a prime safety feature that we should all seriously consider. It follows, of course that you must be able to deploy it while in the water.

It goes without saying that prevention is better than cure and that a safety harness might avoid the fall in the first place or at least hold you close to the boat until help arrives. A good scheme is to run strong webbing down each side-deck, secured from the bow cleat to a stanchion base or something similar aft. The safety harness lanyard can then be clipped onto the windward side and give free movement along the deck for sail handling, reefing etc. I use webbing rather than rope as it lies flat on the deck and doesn't roll if you step on it.

It is far safer to avoid having to leave the cockpit for any reason. Reefing is a significant chore and can be quite tricky when alone. It always happens of course when the wind and sea has picked up to passed the point where you feel comfortable and the boat is already over-powered. Jiffy or slab reefing can be rigged so that the lines lead back to the cockpit obviating the need for deck-work.

The choice of headsail is critical but if the boat is rigged with roller reefing or furling you can relax. Racers are not fond of this however as it generally results in a high cut sail and lost performance. Also, being a mechanical device it can malfunction and according to Murphy will do so at the worst time. In this case it will be worse  than a regular sail. I recommend hanked-on headsails and when sailing short-handed I always rig a downhaul run back to the cockpit. This consists simply of a length of 1/4" line running through a block at the bow and clipped into the genny halyard snapshackle. I have found that this not only facilitates the takedown but also helps to hold the sail on deck afterwards especially when a sheet is also tightened.

Above all I think, being aware of developing conditions,  planning ahead and thinking before taking action should be the guiding rules. No matter how careful we are, emergency situations will arise to challenge us.

Happy and safe sailing and BE PREPARED.

Andrew Sensicle.